Lady Misfortune: Daddy, I'll Be A Righteous Villainess!

Even though Lady has gathered enough guts and courage to look, she could not help but cower in fear as soon as she met Maximilian's demonic glare. 

It was kind of unfair of him to put the blame on her, however. Whether she was around or not, he would definitely scare children away with how intimidating he looked all the time – even adults, she bet. He should be relieved that it was her who became his child. Otherwise, he would probably have to deal with someone who was too afraid of him to even act properly in this father-and-daughter charade. 

Still, how typical of Maximilian. It was just as Lady expected.

'Commenting on what your daughter just said about you before even asking how she was this whole time she was lost? Yep. He's got his priorities right,' she thought sarcastically. 

Right now, she has to stay calm. She believes that she can be more mature than her father sometimes, so she should not stoop to his level and start an argument over something so small. If she wants to get this over with already, she has to drift away from the subject and focus the conversation on something else. 

And with that, Lady pulled out a skit.

"Uwahhh! Daddyyy!" she wailed like the toddler that she was supposed to imitate as she forced herself to move and rushed towards him, pretending to be all petrified and helpless.

"Huh? L-Lady?" her father stammered out, completely thrown off guard by her outburst.

"Just where did you go, Daddy?!"

"That's… I was… I didn't know you're-"

"I was looking everywhere for you! Why did you leave Lady back there?! I'm sorry if I ever did something that made you angry! Please, don't leave me again! It was so scary!"

Maximilian went still at that moment.

Her acting has worked somehow, it seems. He appears to be in thunderstruck silence, not sure how to respond. She smirks quietly to herself. Despite his many talks about pretenses, he should now be aware that his parenting skills are not improving at all – and apparently, that includes dealing with a weeping child.

'That's right, that's right~ Try to comfort your baby girl now, Daddy. Everyone's watching. It's a perfect chance to show our lovely relationship, don't you think?'

Principal Abel has just arrived at the scene along with a few other school officials and faculty staff. Lady takes that they have all been searching for her for the past hour. Maximilian was most likely looking around with them as well.

She sees some of them smile at the sight that greets them – a father reuniting with her daughter. What a sweet and wholesome moment, is what they are probably thinking.

But little do they all know that Maximilian actually has no idea what to do while Lady tries to turn the table by putting him in that situation after he attempted to chastise her for saying 'facts' behind his back. 

"Why aren't you saying anything, Daddy? Did kitty get your tongue?" she asked weakly with wide, teary eyes and an innocent-looking face. 

"Right. I'm sorry for losing sight of you," he spoke up at last, surprising her for a bit, though it appeared kind of forced. 

"Are you mad at Lady?"

"No, I'm not."

"Do you forgive Lady?"

"You didn't do anything wrong."

"Can Lady still go to school?"

"Of course."

"Would you leave Lady again?"

Now, all those questions were not part of her initial plan. She just wanted to make him repent in front of everyone for a little longer even if it was only an act. Surely, he didn't get to see through that scheme, but when he suddenly scooped her up, carried her in his arms, and leaned in to whisper something in her ear, she began to doubt that he didn't.

"One more word and I might consider leaving you at the roadside next time," Maximilian threatened, making Lady freeze in place and gulp silently.

"My, my! What a relief! Good thing we finally found her!" Principal Abel chimed in, clearly unable to read the mood.

"Thank you for your assistance, Principal. The others, too. I appreciate it."

"It's nothing, President. We're more than glad to be of help. Again, I humbly apologize for not paying enough attention. I really didn't expect that Ms. Mireille would get lost during the tour."

"As I've told you, it's not your fault. We just happened to be looking somewhere else at that time. You don't need to apologize."

"Still, it took this long before we found her. We even had to use the surveillance cameras."

"Considering that this academy is so huge, it is understandable that it would take long." 

While their conversation went on, Lady slumped in resignation and eased in his embrace. She was done teasing Maximilian for today. 

In reality, she was nowhere near petrified the whole time she was lost. She was actually going to ask for cookies in the end, but after being threatened, she just decided to give up. It's fine since she's still had some fun – with the new friend she made, that is.

"Oh, right! Daddy, let me introduce you to-"

Lady trailed off right then.

The boy was nowhere to be found when she spun her head around and looked at where she left him. Her brows arched in surprise, her eyes widening. She did not even notice. Thinking that he was still around there somewhere, she scanned the whole place and asked to be put back down.

"Lady?" Maximilian called, wondering what got Lady worked up all of the sudden.

She ignored him, and instead, she ran back to where her friend was supposed to be – only to find no one there. Starting to get a little desperate, she turned back to him and questioned, "Say, did you see a boy here? He was with me the entire time."

"Oh, it was a boy? I didn't really see what that person with you looked like," her father answered, crossing his arms and tilting his head.

"Yes. He has hair and eyes that're blue going white. A kid around my age. Oh, and also, he's very, very smart! He has a medal with him."

"I did see a child earlier. But I don't see anyone else with us now. He must have left already." 

"Eh?! That can't be! He was just right here with us! It's impossible for him to disappear that quickly!"

Lady was more than sure that he was there. Yet, going by the impatient look that Maximilian was giving her, she knew he wasn't going to put up with this.

"Might be the summer heat. You're probably tired. Let's forget about it and go already," he told her without any emotion, and she took offense for once.

"I swear he's just somewhere around here! He's my friend! I wanna go look for him!" she insisted. 

"We've wasted enough time. There's still another place we should go to today."

"Please, Daddy! Just give me a moment! I promise it'll be quick-"

"Lady."

Hearing him use his despotic tone, which he only uses to enforce absolute obedience on those under him, she finds herself shuddering from aghast shock before turning as hard as stone in utter fear. It's as if her body just moved on its own. She regrets making this particular character somewhat overpowered. His voice alone can make anyone's blood run cold within a matter of milliseconds.

Using this moment of weakness on Lady's part, Maximilian went ahead and carried her again. 

"We can't stay any longer. You've made enough trouble for everyone here. Just so you know, I'm quite disappointed in you…" he whispered to her once more before he started to walk away with her in his arms.

"I'm sure you could've handled the situation smartly. You should've stayed in one place instead of running around and making us search everywhere for you. I'll have you apologize to the principal and the others before we get out of here." 

Lady wasn't paying attention to Maximilian at that point. 

She doesn't care about being scolded, especially when all she can think of at that moment is that boy she's made friends with. She had no idea why he left so suddenly. She felt hurt that he did. She didn't even get to say goodbye to him – or even ask for his name for the last time. 

But more than anything, Lady is both distraught and upset at the feeling that she's never going to see him again. As much as she wants to convince Maximilian to let her see him one more time, she's certain that he will not listen – he doesn't even seem to be interested to know more about that boy as he just keeps reproaching her for bothering everyone there. 

'You dummy. Why didn't you say anything?'

Frowning, Lady puts her chin on top of his shoulder and shuts her eyes closed. Maybe Maximilian was right about one thing – she's tired. 

Unbeknownst to her, Principal Abel was walking behind them the whole time, staring at her silently with an enigmatic look in his hooded, narrowed eyes.

'A boy with bluish-white hair and eyes? Sounds very familiar. Don't tell me.... it's that child?'